his choice was to bring the contest to his home waters: san francisco bay. ellison concocted a series of regattas all around the world-- for competing teams from 11 countries-- designed to build enthusiasm and excitement for the main event: america's cup 2013, where 72-foot boats will plough through the bay. these preliminary races featured boats that measure about 45 feet long, with carbonfibre hulls and wing sails, as described by racing announcer andy green. they're the same sailors. they're the same teams, the boats are just a little bit t'thirr. practice racing. this is just to get everyone excited and passionate about the sailing. the prelims going on now-- with the showdown next year-- will be the first time spectators can easily view the races from the land. usually these events were far enough out to sea that watching them was much easier from a boat. and that limited who could attend. over the last few years, very simple now. basically, you can see the boats racing, you can see them right in front of the shore, and its very clear who's winning and